Heel



H. BONAWITZ,

- HEEL.

man DEC. la, 1921.

0 A Y wmg Patented ec. A19, 122.-

HENRY BONAWITZ, 0F BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

HEEL.

Application. filed December 16, 1921v Serial No. 523,160.

To all whom z't may concern Be it known that I, HENRY BoN'nvvrrz, a citizen of the United States, res1d1ng at Brooklyn, in the county of Kmgs and State of New York, have invented certam new and useful Improvements in Heels, of which the following is a specification.

rIhis invention relates to rubbervheels, and it comprises a heel having a dove tall projection formed on the upper surface, and a shoe having a lift provided wlth an opening to receive the projection on the heel, the opening being smaller at the bottom than at the top, whereby the heel is locked therein when assembled.

An object of the invention is the provision of means for'positively retaining a rubber heel on a: shoe Without the use of nails, screws orsother metallic fasteners.

. When a rubber heel is nailed to a shoe or secured by other similar metallic fasteners, the rubber forming the heel wears faster than the metal, eventually exposing the metal' and causing the nail to be forced through the shoe. The exposed head of the nail also tends to injure floors, tear carpets, and otherwise damage property.

In the present invention, l provide a shoe lift havin a dove tail opening small at the outside. he heel is provided with a dove tail projection adapted to be received in this opening. When the heel is to be applied, it is first compressed and then forced into the opening, immediately expanding and filling the opening. rlhis causes a positive lock and prevents accidental displacement of the heel.

ln the accompanying drawings, I have shown one embodiment of the invention. ln this showing:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the bottom of a shoe showing the heel applied,

Figure 2 is a perspective View of the heel removed,

Figure 3 is asimilar view of the bottom of the shoe,

Figure a is a sectional view on line 1 -Ll of Figure 1, showing the heel removed, and.,

Figure 5 is a sectional View on line 5 5.

shown, the opening is dove tailed in shape, the Walls 5 tapering inwardly toward the bottom. Theexact taper of the walls forms no part of the present invention and variations in ldegree may be resorted to, but l have found that the size of the top 6 of the opening should. be about one-quarter of an inch greater than the size of the bottom-7. The walls 5 are thus inclined about oneeighth of an inch from the perpendicular. A heel 8 is adapted to be secured to the lift, the heel being provided with a projection 9 on its upper surface. rlhe projection is dove tailed in shape, the walls 10 inclining upwardly and outwardly. The shape of the projecting portion of the heel thus corre sponds to the opening in the lift. The projection, however, is of slightly greater size than the size of the opening in the lift. As shown in Figure 4 of the drawings, the small area of the projection is slightly greater than the small part of the opening, denoted by line 7, and the top 11 of the projection is` slightly larger than the top 6 of the opening adjacent the shoe. The body portion of the lieel is also concave, the top 12 and bottom 13 being curved as shown.

In assembling the heel, the projecting portion 9 is compressed by suitable machinery and is forced into the opening a in the lift. The heel is then forced into place by exerting a' pressure on the bottom and forcing it toward the shoe. The size of lthe projecting portion 9 being slightly greater than the opening in the sole of the shoe, maintains the projecting portion under compression when in place. This furnishes an additional securing means to prevent accidental displacement. and the wedge shaped projecting portion is prevented from moving outwardly through the smaller, outer face of the opening 4. lVhen the center of the heel is forced inwardly, the body portion of the heel is sprung to arrange the top and bottom thereof in a straight line, as shown in Figure 5 of the drawings. This creates a gripping action, due to suction around the top 12 of the heel, between it and the lift 3.

By use of suitable machinery for compressing the projection 9, the heel may be ve rapidly placed in position on the shoe, Whic is a. decided advantage over present methods wherein a plurality of nails must be independently driven into place to hold the heel in position.

.is stated, the elimination of nails or other metallic fastening elements which will be eXposed when the heel becomes worn is an advantage to the wearer and is an advantage to owners of property, such as public build ing and other places where flooring is marred by nails in the shoes of patrons.

To remove the heel, it is merely necessary to insert a knife above the body portion and cut it from the projection. The projection may then be lifted from the hole 4 by means of a screwdriver or other tool.

The positive grip obtained by means of the wedge shaped projection and similarly shaped .opening in the lift is much .stronger than the grip obtained byl the use of nails and similar fasteners, and accidental displacement of the heel in Wearing is prevented. y

It is to be understood that the form of m invention herewith shownand described 1s to be taken as a preferred example thereof,

'and that various changes in the' shape, size,

and arrangement of=parts may be resorted to Without departing from the spirit of the invention. or the scope of the suhjoined claims.

I claim:

1. A. shoeheel comprising a pair of members including a lift and a compressible member, one of said members being provided With a polygonal opening having the edges of tvvo opposite sides substantially straight and inclined toward each other, the walls ,of said opening being substantially flat and so inclined from the verticalv that said opening has its greatest Aarea remote from the other member, said other member being provided with a projection adapted for insertion in said opening, said projection b'eing of similarlferm to but of slightly greater area throughout than said opening and being of a th-iclness slightly less than said opemn 2. A loe heel comprising a pair of members including a lift and a compressible member, one of said members being provided with a polygonal opening having the edges of two opposite sides inclined toward eachother, said opposite sidesbeing substantially plane surface and so inclined from the vertical that said opening has its greatest area remote from the other member, said other member being provided with a projection of a shape similar to said polygonal opening and adapted to be slidably inserted therein.

In testimony whereof Iafx my signature.

HENRY BON AVVITZ. 

